Team8s and Counting

179. Our New Normal

After another day or two in the hospital, with lots of learning and adapting to Sprinkle's condition, Sprinkle finally made it home from the hospital. All the kids and adults alike were relieved to see him in such good spirits.

Before Sprinkle got home, Donut, with Barf Bag on the phone, tried his best to explain to the kids what was happening with him. The two older girls had seemed to get the general concept of T1D, but the younger kids seemed just as confused as Sprinkle did initially. Barf Bag and Donut knew that with time, they would come to understand the condition more. However, Barf Bag and Donut made sure to make one thing absolutely clear: if they ever felt that Sprinkle seemed off or was acting funny, they should get an adult immediately to test his blood sugar.

The first two days after Sprinkle got home, Barf Bag and Donut decided to take time off from work and keep Sprinkle home from school to practice giving Sprinkle his injections without supervision from the hospital staff. There were lots of successes, but there were also times that Sprinkle had a hard time with the shots, and Donut and Barf Bag tried their best to get him through those hard times, though it wasn't always easy.

Barf Bag then had to get on the phone with the school to make sure there was a 504 plan in place. This involved making sure he had access to snacks when he needed it, a private area to check his blood sugar or take his insulin, and that staff members were trained to recognize and respond to symptoms of high or low blood sugar. The school nurse assured Barf Bag that they had experience working with students with Type 1 Diabetes and that Sprinkle would be well taken care of.

Barf Bag and Donut also had a one-on-one with Coiny to make sure he knew how to properly administer the insulin shots and check his blood sugar, since he was the one at home with the kids the most when Barf Bag and Donut were at work. Despite being a little nervous at first, he got the hang of it pretty quickly, and Sprinkle gave him the approval.

"It doesn't hurt as much when you do it, Uncle Coiny!" Sprinkle said to him, as he was about to have his lunch.

Coiny chuckled. "Maybe I just have the magic touch, don't I?"

As Sprinkle got more comfortable with the shots overtime, he would let Sack and his cousins see him get his shots after they came home from school, ready to show them just how brave he was. "See, not so bad? And now I get to have a snack!" Sprinkle took a spoonful of yogurt, and proudly ate it in front of everyone.

Bladey glanced over at Barf Bag. "So...we have this stuff in our bodies?" She said, referring to the shot.

Barf Bag nodded as she was throwing away the syringe. "Mhm, most of us do. It's called insulin. Our bodies usually make it on their own to help turn food into energy. But Sprinkle's body doesn't make enough anymore, so we have to help him by giving him some insulin with the shots."

Bladey was intrigued by the idea. "That's actually really cool!"

Sack nervously walked up to Sprinkle, and took a hold of his other hand as he was eating the yogurt. "Does this mean you won't shake like that anymore? It was really scary."

Sprinkle stopped eating for a moment, and gave Sack a big hug. "Of course, I don't want to go back to the hospital again, it was no fun!"

Sack hugged him tightly, burying his face in Sprinkle's shoulder. "Good," he murmured. "I don't want you to go back there either."

Eventually, it came time for Sprinkle to go back to school. Barf Bag made sure that Sprinkle had everything he needed, and organized everything at home to make sure Coiny was well-prepared for the daily routine. She packed Sprinkle's lunch with carb counts written on a sticky note for the teacher to help with, included a spare juice box for emergencies, and double-checked his backpack for his blood sugar monitor and insulin supplies.